Darker Then Death Outstretched
by XIII Dragon
Summary: Post MR3. Everytime we've been on holiday, something always screws it up. It began with the Winged Erasers, next came the Flyboys, this time Itex has decided act on their new plan. The days are getting darker, it seems death is stretching its wings. Fax.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey people, I realised this is slightly later than I said it would be, but I've finally gotten around to writing it. My two beta's haven't gotten around this chapter as of yet, but I thought it would be a good idea to throw up this story. Anyways, it's set after MR3, not MR4. Not much more to say, except enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: JP owns all canon. New stuff is mine.**

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I ducked down low, lashing out with a foot. I couldn't help but grin when I was rewarded with the sound of crunching bone. That must have hurt. A lot. I didn't have time to bask, though, as the Eraser replied with a swipe of his own, catching me across the arm and drawing blood. Wincing, I blocked out the pain.

Dancing back as the Eraser pressed his advantage, I found myself back-to-back with Fang, busy with two Erasers of his own. I had no time to see how he was doing as I blocked two swipes at my head. Dodging another, I saw an opening and took it, raised my hand to deflect his kick and elbowing him neatly in the stomach before swinging my body around, upper-cutting him and sending him to the ground.

I immediately surveyed my surroundings, taking a look at how the others were doing. Or I would have if not for the explosion that threw me onto the ground. Eardrums ringing, eyes watering from the dust and the world swirling around me, I managed to stand up on shaky legs.

"Everyone alright?" I yelled out.

The first to reply was Fang, whispering in my ear, "Seems like that got rid of the final few Erasers."

I whirled on him. "How many times have I told—"

"Here!" called Nudge, coughing and turning on the boys, "Can you _please_ give us some warning before you do that one next time, I mean, really, that—"

"Hey! If we gave warning then the Erasers would know, too," replied Gazzy.

"Still, that came as a bit of a shock you know," said Angel. "Not to mention this branch nearly found _my_ head." She gestured down at the Eraser lying at her feet. He had a stake through his head.

"Come on, people," said Iggy, "that was a mere seven on a scale of ten. We haven't even gotten to the high end of the scale yet."

"This is all rather interesting to listen to," stated Total by my feet, "but I can hear people coming."

"You can still hear above the ringing?" I asked him.

He simply rolled his eyes at me. Laughing, I ruffled his fur and turned to the others. "Okay people, you heard the mutt—"

"Hey!" Total huffed, but I ignored him.

"—people are coming and we just fought Erasers. That means our vacation has just been cancelled for now." Groans and curses were thrown about. I snapped open my wings, catching their attention, "Once we get far enough away it's back to holiday mode. And this time, no fooling around until we clear the treetops. We wouldn't want a repeat of last time, would we?"

There was some light chuckling as we rose slowly through the tree tops. It's hard to keep a sour mood when you're flying. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Fang slowly drifting over to me. Smiling, I adjusted my speed, dropping down to the back of the Flock as they whirled around and dived at each other.

"Hey there," I whispered softly.

"Hello back," he replied, caressing my cheek with his fingers.

Grinning wider, I caught his hand with my own and held it as we flew. My eyes darted around at the rest of the Flock, making sure none of them saw. They were so happy right now, playing with each other, diving through the sky, such a drastic change from our days on the run. And now . . . we might be on the run once again.

"They were Erasers," I whispered to Fang, "I thought they had all died out."

He sighed. "You're not going to go all tense on me now are you?"

I shook my head and moved closer to him. "No, I'm not going to get all tense. I'm just wondering what's going to happen now." I sighed. "This is just like last time. Nothing happened for a long time, then all of a sudden the Flyboys appeared. This time nothing's happened and then Erasers suddenly appeared. We're meant to be safe now. On holiday. Enjoying life."

"Come on Max, you'll make it through. We did last time didn't we? Plus," he chuckled lightly, "the School is gone, everything should work out for the best. Who'll be chasing after us? They're probably just strays."

I glanced over him, "Still we—"

"Need to be prepared," he finished for me, smiling and flying close enough to peck my lips quick—it takes a lot of practice to kiss while flying, and even now we only had a second before losing altitude. Like always, I felt warmth flood my body and my flapping became slightly erratic. I saw Iggy glance over and I straightened out my wing beats. "I know, Max. And I will be prepared. I'll talk to Iggy about it. After all, we're the Three Musketeers: the pyromaniac, the leader, and me."

I rolled my eyes at him. "The Three Musketeers? Have you been reading online novels again? Plus, if I'm the leader and Iggy the pyromaniac, then who would you be?"

Just as Fang was about to reply, Angel called out, "Max! There's a cave down there, maybe we should stay there for the night?"

I glanced up at the sky. A nice deep crimson colour. If I were Gazzy, I would go into all the details and describe it perfectly. I'd talk about the sun sinking into the distant sea to the right, the clouds floating in the sky, the sounds of wildlife in the forest below us. I'd say how the stars were slowly winking into existence the night sky.

Gazzy the poet. It was a surprise when we found out. Or more accurately, it was a surprise when Iggy burst into the hotel room we'd been occupying, reciting a poem out loud. A rather nice poem. And it was a rather . . . unique way to wake up as well.

Of course, it took forever for Gazzy to forgive Iggy. Those weeks were hectic. Neither of them would talk to each other and pranks were flying in all directions. More than once someone else got caught in the crossfire.

"Lost in thought?" asked Fang.

I glanced over at him. "Just wondering how Gazzy would describe the scenery is all. That boy sure does have a way with words. He should be an author."

We landed at the cave of the mouth and peered inside. Angel and Nudge were already playing some game on the ground, Iggy was cooking while Gazzy was watching him, and Total was making comments all the while. Seemed like this was the spot to bunker down for the night.

Sliding the bag off my shoulder, I threw it into the corner and sat down, leaning against it for comfort. I watched as Fang walked over, whispered in Iggy's ear and both headed off, leaving Gazzy to tend to the food, which smelled delicious, whatever it was.

I gazed toward the entrance of the cave, sky already a darker shade of red. The Erasers . . . Where had they come from? They didn't seem like Flyboys, either. Jeb hadn't sent me anything about the School coming back online so it wasn't that . . . It could be Itex; after multiple bases being stormed by children, they had managed to regain their composure and even got their lawyers to sue us. They sued Fang for causing damage to their image or something stupid like that, but it wasn't like they could find us. Last I heard they were on their feet again and bigger than before.

"Still lost in thought?" asked Fang.

I jumped and turned to face him, "How many times have I told you to stop doing that?" Noticing he had a bowl of food in his hand, I relieved him of it, digging into it enthusiastically. Not bad if Gazzy made it.

"You mean breathe?" He sounded so innocent when he said that, earning him a punch in the arm. "Ow! Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"Max! Stop beating you Fang!" yelled Iggy.

"Yeah Max, stop beating me up," said Fang. "Beat Iggy up instead. Less chance of him getting annoyed and returning the favour . . ."

I rolled my eyes. "Ha, ha. Real funny Fang." I got up for another helping, wincing slightly when I had to use my left arm.

"What's wrong?" asked Fang, instantly by my side.

"It's nothing."

"Sure, because that red stuff that looks like blood isn't soaking into your shirt, is it?" demanded Total from my feet.

I growled at him, but everyone was already in a flurry of movement. Fang was scolding me, Angel was grabbing the medical kit from Iggy's bag, Nudge was fretting and I was sitting in the middle of it.

"I'm alright," I practically yelled over the commotion. Did they listen? Nope.

"Fang, Gazzy, Total, get out," Iggy demanded.

"What? Why?" the instant complaints filed in.

Iggy pulled stuff out of his kit. "Because Max is going to have to take off her top so I can treat her wound. Now unless one of you is her boyfriend or something, I suggest you leave before Max kicks you out."

Fang opened his mouth to say something, but a quick glare from me and he closed his mouth, looking slightly sheepish. I jerked my head in the direction of the cave mouth and they left, grumbling. I turned to face Iggy. "You too."

His smile immediately vanished, "Why me? I'm the doctor around here . . ."

"So? This is a simple wound, now get out and we'll treat it ourselves." Iggy opened his mouth to complain but I cut him off. "Leave now. Or I can throw you out if you want." He closed his mouth and slipped away.

I looked across at Angel and Nudge, both failing to conceal grins. Rolling my eyes, I burst out laughing; they exchanged a single glance before joining me. Stripping off my shirt, I glanced at it and there was indeed a blotch of red where the blood had seeped through. How did Fang miss that?

Tossing it to the side, Nudge pulled out the bottle of antiseptic and applied it to my wound, causing me to grit my teeth, and wrapped up my arm. I sat as still as possible while she worked away. It was weird having Nudge talk so little; it was . . . unnatural, starting to border on scary.

When I said talking so little, I mean talking as much and as fast as a bunny that's high. And that's about half the speed she normally talks at. It doesn't mean I was listening; I just sat there, nodded my head, and made non-committal answers when necessary. It's what everyone does.

Picking up the clean shirt Nudge found me, I slipped it on called to Angel who was guarding the cave entrance. "Let them in."

"Hey guys, you can come back in now!" I winced as her voice echoed around the cave. Slowly, one by one, the guys filed in. I could see Fang's smug smile and Iggy's scowl despite the shadows thrown up by the fire.

"Okay people, time for bed. I've got first watch," I told them all.

"I've got last as usual," called Iggy.

"I've got second."

"No, I've got second."

"Whatever, I called it first."

"Fine, I'll have—"

"I call third watch."

"What? I was going to ha—"

"You were too slow so shame."

"Seems you've got fourth watch. Have fun," I told Gazzy.

Laughing, everyone got moved off to their various bags, pulled out some clothes for padding and promptly tried to get to sleep. I put out the fire and eased over to Fang. Squatting down, I whispered so that only he could hear, "Can I borrow your laptop?"

Fang turned over so that he was facing me and cocked an eyebrow. "Is that smart? You're meant to be on watch."

I chuckled and leaned close, kissing him on the cheek. "Why don't you take watch with me then and make sure that nothing happens?"

He chuckled softly and got out of his makeshift bed, walking over to his bag and handing his precious laptop to me. "What do you need it for?"

I merely laughed and walked out into the moonlight and turned it on, tilting the screen so that there was enough light to read through the latest news on Itex. There was nothing that screamed "Evil corporation!"

"Wait, go back up," Fang muttered in my ear.

Nodding, I scrolled back up and saw the article Fang wanted me to click on. Slowly we skimmed it. "So? The head of the FBI was found dead. What's so amazing about that?" I asked him.

"Don't you remember? Anne was in the FBI and she was working for the School. And now the head of the FBI is found dead . . ." he trailed off.

I tilted my head to the side. "It's possible," I finally conceded, "that there might be some sort of connection. But what I was hoping for is some sort of connection between the Erasers and Itex."

"Hm . . . move aside."

I passed him the laptop and he sat down, typing away as I watched over his shoulder. He jumped from screen to screen, moving at such a furious pace that I could barely keep up.

In the end I gave up and just rested, watching him as he worked. I noticed the way his head craned to the side to catch the light and his hair fell across his face, obscuring it, the way his shoulders were tense as he worked, the way his wings were spread—

Wings?

My throat suddenly went dry. He was topless. With that thought, a bunch of images flooded my mind, images I usually had while dreaming, images that both thrilled me and made me blush. A smile touched my lips and I walked over and kneeled behind him. As I leaned against him, my hands brushed down the side of his body, caressing the skin as I nibbled his ear.

He gasped and I allowed myself to smile at his reaction but he pulled away, making me whine in annoyance. Turning to face me, a grin plastered on his face, he leaned forward, a whisper caressing my ear. "Frisky Max?"

I simply growled in response and licked his nose, looking at him innocently.

He turned the computer so that I could see the screen. "I suggest you read this first."

I quickly scanned the news article and it completely killed my mood. It killed my mood with a nuclear warhead. "Itex is revealing a new product that's said to change the world and important leaders are gathering?" I glanced up at Fang. "This is not good. Something is almost definitely up."

Fang nodded. "Something is up. Definitely. The only problem is that we won't be able to get there in time and even if we did, what would do? There's no way we can stop this. Especially since they won that court battle and proved their 'innocence'."

I nodded, sour expression on my face. "I suppose there's not much we can do. We'll have to wait it out and see what happens, although I do want to start heading in that direction so that if something does happen we'll be close at hand."

"So, back to New York?"

"Back to New York."

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**A/N As usual, reviews would be nice, critiques even better.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N The main notice that's important for everyone to read is that updates may or may not be coming weekly anymore. They will be kept withen 2 week intervals of each other. The reason being is that school life is hectic over here right now and that I want to spend more time writing my own original stuff. -shrugs- This is just informing you for now.**

**Disclaimer: JP owns canon**

**Claimer: Everything else is mine**

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I sat there on the dirt ground and looked up at the moon

I sat there on the ground and looked up at the moon. I looked on as it was hidden behind the clouds and as it wandered back in full view. Don't get me wrong, I was still concentrating on watch. I knew when one of the Flock woke up, heard all those little animals scrambling around in the night. I was watching, listening, alert. And I was jumpy.

The slightest noise made my head swivel around, peering into the dark where it came from. The hoots of the owls, small scuttling feet, all of it set me on edge. It was worst while the moon was hidden. Everything, absolutely everything was thrust into a darkness so murky that I couldn't see beyond my hands.

"Max?" I was immediately on my feet, hands up in a defensive position before I recognized the voice. "You alright?"

I sighed and relaxed. "Sorry," I whispered, "jumpy is all."

Fang chuckled lightly and hugged me from behind. "I noticed that. Worried about the whole Itex thing?" I nodded and leaned back into him, sighing, enjoying his company. "Well there's not much we can do except to be prepared for the worst. Go and get some sleep, okay? I'm on watch now."

I nodded, not even bothering to check the time, and crawled back into the cave. Instead of lying down on my own bed, I moved over to Fang's and collapsed on his. Still nice and warm. Sighing, I buried my face in the makeshift pillow. His scent still lingered and I took a couple deep breaths, my eyelids closing as I did so and a smile tugging at my lips.

--

No sounds, pure silence, not even my breathing was audible. Light. What light? There was no light. Only darkness and silence. Nothing more, nothing less. The only colour in this place was me.

"Where am I?" my voice echoed in the blackness around me. "Hello? Is this a dream?"

"_Hello there Max."_ I turned around in circles trying to locate the voice. _"There's no need to yell, you know. My hearing is good enough . . . better than you've got anyways, though I'm not so sure about that blind bird of yours. He's quite a looker as well, but nowhere near Fang. Very good taste there Max, very good taste."_

I chuckled. "Too bad you won't be getting either of them then. Such a shame."

The voice's laughter echoed mine. _"Max, Max, Max, I've always wanted to talk to you, but never gotten the chance. You're everything I thought you would be."_

I took a deep bow in no particular direction. "Why thank you, though I would appreciate it if I knew who it was I was talking to."

Soft footsteps came from behind me. Turning, I stepped back and held my arms ready in case anything happened. My eyes darted from side to side, seeing nothing further than the darkness, ears straining to pick up any sounds that might indicate more than one person.

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk. Really__, Max, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done so already."_ The person stepped out of the darkness. No, it wasn't a person, it was an Eraser. I held my arms up higher as muscles tensed up. _"As it stands, all I want to do is meet you. Nothing more, nothing less."_

She held out a hand but I spat at her feet, replying, "You believe I'll trust you? Just like that?"

She chuckled. _"Good old Max. That's exactly the sort of response I expected from you. This meeting has definitely been worth the wait."_

"Where am I and who the hell are you?"

A smile parted her lips. _"Who am I?"_ She seemed amused; I was just itching to wipe that smirk off her face. _"I suppose it has been a long time. A year at least. I expected you to remember me, but alas, it seems I've been forgotten. Woe with me, oh woe with me, the mighty Max has forgotten who I am. Whatever shall I do? Shall I—"_

"Just tell me your name!"

Her muzzle parted as she smiled broader, revealing a row of sharp teeth. _"My name is of no worth. It's what I shall do that will change this world. Call me what you wish; names hold no real importance to me."_

--

I jerked awake with a soft gasp. In an instant, Fang was by my side, checking my pulse. Concern was written all over his face. I rolled my eyes and endured the medical session.

As he carried out his examination of me, I conducted my own. My hands trailed up his thighs, caressing him through the thin fabric. Moving slowly, I slid them up and under his shirt, grinning at the skin-on-skin contact, feeling a tremor pass through Fang's body. Removing one hand, I used it to support my weight, leaning up to kiss him sweetly on the lips, tracing his abs with my other hand. Disengaging from the kiss, I looked him lovingly in the eye before licking his nose—

"Will you two stop making out?" demanded Iggy. "There are children here you know. Plus, I can't concentrate enough to make breakfast with you two in each others pan—"

Fang and I sprung apart, blushing. I glanced over at Iggy, sending a death glare that was lost in transmission. However, the shoe that struck Iggy's head wasn't lost. In fact, it was dead on, smacking him directly in the back of the head.

"Ow! That hurt." Iggy rubbed the back of his head, throwing the shoe out the cave. "Now you have to run after it."

"That wasn't my shoe. It's not like I'm that stupid." I could _hear_ Fang rolling his eyes at Iggy. "It's yours."

Iggy merely tilted his head towards us, grinning. "Well, either you can get my shoe for me and eat breakfast, or I can get my shoe and listen as breakfast burns to a cinder."

I chuckled and Iggy paled. "Or you could fetch the shoe yourself, _after_ you've finished cooking."

"Or give it to Gazzy to cook. After all, he needs the practise," Fang added from beside me.

Iggy growled something unintelligible, woke Gazzy up, and went outside to find his shoe. I glanced over at Fang and raised an eyebrow.

He winked at me and answered my silent question, "Yes, that wasn't his shoe." I laughed, Gazzy chuckled half-asleep, and Fang smiled in that special way of his.

"What? What's so funny?" demanded Iggy from the cave entrance. We cracked up even more when Iggy's face broke into one of complete horror. "You mean . . . this isn't my . . . shoe . . .?" Disgusted, he threw it back out.

Fang smiled broader and replied casually, "Nope, it's Nudge's."

There was a moment's silence from Iggy as he computed what Fang had said while Gazzy and I doubled over laughing. By the time I wiped the tears from my eyes, Iggy had vanished. I gestured for Gazzy to start cooking, but he was . . . indisposed, so Fang stepped in. Perhaps not as good as Iggy or Gazzy, but not that bad all the same.

"What's going on?" mumbled Total. "Can't a dog get some peace and quiet around here?"

Before we could reply, Iggy fell back into the cave, panting. "Okay . . . I'm back . . . has . . . Nudge . . . woken up . . . yet?"

Total strolled over to the collapsed Iggy and nudged him a couple of times with his snout before declaring, "He's dead."

Gazzy and I collapsed to the ground as Iggy raised a finger into the air and mumbled, "Give me five more minutes and I will be."

By this time we were rolling around laughing, waking up Angel and Nudge who demanded to know what was going on. Fang told them in a calm and collected voice and Angel collapsed onto the ground with us, Nudge walking over to kill Iggy for the mistreatment of her shoe. We only truly stopped laughing when Fang brought food around to each of us.

"Okay people," I told them once we were finished eating, "we're going to New York."

"Back to New York?" asked Total. "Can't we go back to France instead?"

"I vote for going to France," seconded Iggy.

"So do I," agreed Gazzy, "it's not like I've been there before you know . . ."

I shot a quick glare at Fang, but he wisely kept his mouth shut as I replied, "We'll go to France after New York, okay? How's that for a plan?"

"Great," they chorused as one.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to the girls. "What about you two? Got any suggestions?"

They shook their heads. "That's fine with us," Angel said.

"Okay, New York then France. After that the girls can choose the next place to go," I said and walked outside, unfurling my wings. It was cloudy, absolutely no sun. I hoped for no rain and called to the rest of the Flock. "Come on people, the sooner we get to New York the sooner we get to France."

Punching their fists into the air, they leapt into the sky. Fang placed a hand on my shoulder. "They won't be going to France, will they?"

I sighed and glanced back at him. "If we're lucky, we will be," was all I said before leaping into the sky after them.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Here's the next chapter. Thanks to all reviewers. As for my two beta's, I realise I didn't send the chapter to you, but I've been busy and only just finished it.**

**Disclaimer: JP owns all canon**

**Claimer: Everything else is mine.**

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"Max

"Max!!" called Nudge.

I clamped my hands over my ears in an attempt to stop the ringing. "Must you do that?" I asked her. "How many times have I told you not to yell in people's ears?"

Nudge tilted her head. "Well, there was that first time when we met, and then there was that once when I was screaming at the whitecoat and of course I can—"

"We get the idea Nudge," said Iggy, "now can you please tell us why you yelled so loudly to begin with?"

She pointed off into the distance. "Can we stay there, Max? Please? Pretty, pretty please, Max? Iggy will make cookies for you . . ."

"I'll what?!" Iggy exclaimed, but I ignored him.

Glancing over, I studied the place she was pointing to. About five stories tall with balconied windows at every room. There was still a good layer of paint on the walls and the sign wasn't terrible. Of course the outside could just be a sham, but it was better than some of the other places we'd stayed.

"Please Max?"

I refrained from looking down at Angel. She was doing her puppy eyes, I just knew it.

Instead, I continued gazing at the building. The trees out front would probably block the view of the first few floors and the numerous fire escapes looked promising.

"I want a closer look at it first," I told them, "but it seems like a good prospect."

At my news, Nudge and Angel cheered and raced toward the building. Sighing, I took off after them while the boys brought up the rear. I dodged left right and centre, trying to weave between the people on the streets. More than once I had to stop and help someone that I'd knocked over.

In the end I gave up on apologising; I left that job up to the boys, seeing a few girls among those I'd run down and hoping Fang would keep Iggy in line. I did not need complications right now, especially complications that involved babies.

Nudge and Angel finally came to a stop in front of the building and looked pleadingly at me. I barely managed to break eye contact before they stole my willpower with that evil puppy-dog look of theirs.

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I stared hard at the building. The paint was better off even than I thought it was and none of the windows were broken. There were, in fact, two fire escapes, and the trees did block out some of the rooms.

I turned my head and waited for Fang to catch up. "What d'you think?" I whispered.

He stood silent for a couple of minutes as he too examined the building. "It's fine. Seems fairly well kept and there's multiple escapes. We should ask for the rooms obscured from sight though."

I nodded. "My thoughts exactly." I turned to the rest of the Flock. "Okay people, this is where we're staying."

"When are we going to France?" asked Iggy.

It was a question that was immediately repeated by everyone except for Fang, who responded, "Within the week."

I nodded in agreement. "Yep, we'll be leaving within the week, but first things first, time to get some rooms."

I strolled into the building and to the front desk, waiting patiently for the receptionist to get off the phone. It was fairly nice inside, actually. Better than I would have thought. The soft glow from the lights was soothing, the air conditioning was on, music was playing in the background and the scent of flowers didn't make me want to puke.

"Yes? May I help you?" she finally asked.

I turned my attention back to her. She was really pretty—I glanced at Fang out of the corner of my eye, but he didn't even look at her. Smiling, I told her, "I'm looking for three separate rooms, each one with two beds."

She nodded and started typing on her computer. "Would you like them to be adjoining, allowing access to all three, or separate?"

I looked over at the others and they replied as one, "Adjoining!" I cocked an eyebrow at them and they added in a softer voice, "Please."

The receptionist nodded and then glanced up at me. "I'm going to need some ID, miss; our policy states that a guardian over the age of eighteen has to be staying in the same room as a child. As seen as you've got adjoining rooms there only needs to be one guardian."

I nodded and drew the fake ID I had received as a birthday gift from Jeb from my pocket. According to it I was nineteen, and certainly tall enough to play the part.

She looked at it for only a second. "How long will you be staying here?"

"A day for now; I'll make arrangements in the morning if it's longer."

She nodded and gave us three sets of cards. "Swipe these at the door to enter and slot them into place once you're inside to turn on the lights and so forth. You're on the third floor on the right hand side at the very end."

I thanked her and pocketed the cards, gesturing for the Flock to follow. We took the elevator two groups. It might have been large enough to fit six normal people and a dog, but not six _claustrophobic _people and a dog.

I turned to Gazzy and Angel who were in the elevator with me. "So who are you staying with?"

"Nudge," replied Angel and hastily added, "and Total."

"Iggy."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I should have expected as much. Sighing once more, I handed Angel her key card and turned to Gazzy, dangling it before his face, "No blowing things up, okay?"

He simply rolled his eyes and snatched the keys out of my hand. "Yes mother. You told me that last time and the time before that and the time before that and the time that . . ." He glanced up at me. "It's not like we've _actually_ blown anything up yet."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him out the door as it opened. "And you better not start blowing anything up either or once we get to France I'm locking you in your room and not letting you out. And I'm taking away your explosives while I'm at it."

"You don't even know where the explosives are," he replied smugly.

I flashed him a grin and placed my hand on Angel's head as she gave him the most evil smile ever seen on a child. Gazzy turned and fled down the corridor, entered his room, and slammed the door shut. Glancing down at Angel, I gave her a high five.

"I don't even want to know what you two are so happy about," remarked Iggy from behind us.

I turned around. "Iggy, you're staying with Gazzy; Nugde and Total are staying with Angel."

Iggy wolf-whistled and wiped his brow. "Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" He started fanning himself with a hand.

I rolled my eyes at Iggy's oh-so-funny joke as Fang shoved him towards me and I stepped aside, holding out a leg. Iggy tripped and just managed to regain his balance, straightening his clothes and shooting a death glare back at us before making his way down the hall. Gazzy opened their door and just before Iggy disappeared inside, he called out, "Just try to keep it quiet, okay? Some of us actually want to get some sleep."

I turned to Nudge and Angel, rolling my eyes. "Ignore him. And Angel, don't read Iggy's mind, okay?"

They simply nodded. "Probably something perverted," remarked Angel.

Total snickered. "You have no idea."

"Perverted? More than likely. I mean, come on Angel, it's Iggy we're talking about; he was _drooling_ over that chick at reception after Gazzy described her. I mean, come on, what is up with guys anyw—" Nudge's voice was cut off by the door closing.

I glanced over at Fang and held out the key card to him. He reached out to take it, but I pulled my hand back. "I think the sensible thing to do would be to tell the person downstairs that we've changed our minds and only need two rooms so we can lookk after the kids . . ."

He stared at me for a while, trying to figure out if I was joking or not. Finally he sighed and took the keys from my hand. He glanced one last time at me before walking off to the elevator.

I watched him until he entered the elevator, then tried knocking on the girls' door only to watch it swing open.

"You've got him trained better than me." I looked down at the voice and saw Total gazing back up at me. "And I'm fairly well trained."

I rolled my eyes. "Now if only we can get you to talk less."

Total looked up at me with those eyes of his. "Then who would Nudge gossip to?"

I opened my mouth to reply then closed it. I opened it once more, but nothing came out. "Fine, you win," I eventually grumbled.

Snickering, he skipped further into the room. "Guess who ditched Fang and joined us?" he called as he skipped. "You get three guesses."

The next thing I knew, I was being pulled toward a chair with a giant mirror propped in front of it. Alongside it on the ground was a box full of makeup materials. One look and I knew what was about to happen. Which is worse: makeup session or fighting Erasers? Personally, the second option sounds better.

They sat me down and while Nudge brushed my hair, chatting all the while, Angel ruffled around inside Nudge's bag before pulling out a dress.

Reread that last word. Got it? Good, for it does say dress. Me, in a dress. The world will end any second now. Angel advanced with the dress held in front of her. Any second now. . . Nudge took the dress from Angel and looked at me. Any second now. . . Any sec—

"You girls planning on destroying the earth?" I glanced over and saw Fang standing in the doorway. "For if you put Max in that the world as we know it will end . . . maybe the universe, now that I think about it."

I rolled my eyes and threw a brush at Fang. He coolly sidestepped and let it fly out of the room. "If you two are done dressing her up, I'd like to talk to Max."

Angel and Nudge glanced at each other. "As long as you're planning on returning her."

"What am I, an object?" I looked down at Total. "Is this how they treat you?"

He nodded his furry, dark head. "Now you know what it feels like to be me."

I reached down and scratched him behind the ear. "Well perhaps I should stop treating you like an object then." Total simply sat there, unable to reply.

I glanced over at Fang who was still negotiating with Angle and Nudge, trying to get me out. As they talked, I saw Fang flash something in front of them and they immediately glanced over at me wide eyed before muttering amongst themselves in the corner.

I jerked my head in the direction of the girls and cocked an eyebrow at him. He simply smiled and shrugged.

"Don't you ever get annoyed at that?" asked Total. "The way he simply doesn't say anything and does that mysterious smile of his, as if he knows something that you don't know?"

I titled my head. "Not really. I suppose I've never thought of it that way. Plus, I prefer someone who talks less to someone who talks too much."

Total glanced over to where Nudge was, then slid his gaze to Fang before turning back to me. "That's probably just you."

I rolled my eyes and watched as Angel walked back to Fang, whispered something in his ear and then stood back, smirking. Fang stood there, tapping his foot before finally nodding. They shook hands and Fang gestured for me to follow him.

I patted Total on the head before following the bird-boy out the door, closing it behind me. "What was that about?" I asked him.

He simply chuckled and pulled a card out of his pocket, stopping in front of the unoccupied adjacent room and opening the door. All the while I was staring at him blankly. "I can not believe you still have that. Didn't I tell you to get a refund?"

"Apparently, each guest must have a bed to themselves unless it's a large one. And they don't have any rooms with three beds." He shrugged innocently. "It seems like we're staying together then."

I shook my head. "That's where you've got it wrong." Opening the door, I took the card out of the slot and stepped into the room. Fang tried to follow me, but I simply pushed him out and closed the door. "I'm having this room to myself. You can stay with the boys," I called through the door.

I didn't bother waiting for a reply. I ran over to the door that separated the rooms and locked it. A couple seconds later I heard the door handle rattle and I laughed. "A bit too slow there Fang."

"Come on Max, let me in," he demanded.

I shook my head and threw my bag onto the ground next to the bed. "I think not. This is a Maxocracy, remember? I told you to refund this room and you didn't. Consider this your punishment."

"You can't stay in there forever, Max."

I simply laughed. "Watch me." There was a bit more thumping on the door, then silence.

Shrugging off my clothes, I made my way to the shower. I waited until it was hot before stepping in and sighing. Hot water, soap, cleanliness. I leaned against the wall and let it pour over my body. Oh how I'd missed this.

Once I was done, I stepped out and dried myself off. Wrapping the towel around my body, I left the bathroom, whistling a tune all the while.

"You know Max, you can't—" Fang stopped mid-speech. I stopped mid-tune.

We stood on opposite sides of the brightly lit room looking at one another. Both speechless. Both stunned. Both unsure how to react. I glanced over his shoulder and saw the door was closed. Well, that was a blessing at least.

Licking my dry lips, I turned my attention back to Fang. "You got Iggy to pick the lock?"

He nodded, staring at my chest all the while. I rolled my eyes. What is up with boys? At least I had the towel wrapped around my body . . .

I snapped my fingers, grabbing his attention. "You going to leave so that I can get dressed?"

He gave me a crooked smile. "If I leave you'll lock me out again. Can't I just turn around or something? I promise not to look . . ."

I rolled my eyes. "Go get a shower while I get changed, then."

He flashed me a quick smile pulled out some clothes from his bag. I waited until the shower turned on then quickly closed all the curtains and dressed.

Sighing, I threw myself onto the bed. It was soft, it was warm, it was luxurious. Everything a pile of clothes in some dark cave did not offer. Even better was that I didn't have to share a room with Gazzy.

Rolling over, I picked up the remote and turned the television on. I surfed the channels a bit, but in the end I found myself watching the news. It was the usual boring stuff—stock market, exchange currency, weather; you know what I'm talking about.

Turning off the television, I knocked on the bathroom door and called out, "I'm using your laptop!"

The door suddenly opened and Fang stood there, drying off his hair. "I'll grab it for you." I opened my mouth to complain but he brushed past me.

Pulling the laptop out of his bag, he plugged it into the wall and sat on his bed with it. "I'm guessing you want to look up news on Itex again?"

I nodded and sat down next to him. I watched as he scrolled through the usual search. Leaning back, I rested on the bed and allowed myself to relax, minimally. It would take a while for Fang to find the right news article. I listened to the sound of Nudge and Angel chatting away next door, for any sounds of Iggy and Gazzy blowing anything up, as Fang typed away.

There was a light touch on my shoulder and I tilted my head up. "Yes? Found it?"

Fang nodded and turned the computer screen to face me. "Nothing, absolutely nothing happened," he told me. "It reads that the people will be taking a plane in two days time back to their relative countries."

I scanned the article and frowned. "It says that they'll be leaving from the same airport; I think we should go and check it out." I glanced back up at Fang. "And if nothing happens, we can buy tickets to France at the same time."

He nodded. "I'll go tell the others."

I nodded and closed the lid of the laptop, placing it on the bedside table. Leaning back, I plucked a pillow off the bed and stuffed it over my ears in preparation. I barely got the pillow there in time—the next thing I knew, a solid wall of sound blasted into me.

They screamed. They partied. They yelled. They danced. They caused a racket. And even with the pillow in my ear, I could hear them as if they were next to me. I'm surprised no one came and yelled at us to shut up. On second thought, they probably did, I just couldn't hear them.

I probably wouldn't be able to hear anything for the rest of the night. The screaming went up a notch and I rolled over, squeezing my eyes shut.

_This is going to be a long night._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hey there people, sorry about last week and not updating. Lets just say I hate school and leave it at that shall we?**

**Disclaimer: JP owns canon**

**Claimer: Original stuff are mine**

* * *

I knocked politely on the door before opening it and entering

I knocked politely on the door before opening it and entering. Nudge and Angel where sitting on the bed doing each others' hair. Why am I not surprised? At least the room was clean. Very clean, in fact. The smashed lamp was no long there, the beds were made up and the room was cleaned.

I looked over at them. "Have you packed everything?"

"Yep." Angel pointed over towards the door where three bags were leaning against the wall. "One's for Total."

Total jumped onto the bed. "Yeah, one's for me. You don't expect me to go to France without being prepared do you? I mean come on Max, it's _France_. I've even been practising my French to woo all the ladies. . ."

I walked out the door and left Total to his French speaking practice. Moving over to the other side of the room, I knocked on that door and entered into Gazzy and Iggy's room.

Okay, I didn't enter per say, what I did was press myself against the wall, place a hand on the door handle, take on deep breath, open the door, dive back and sidestepped behind the wall as fast as possible. Angel, Nudge and Total were no where in sight and when I reached the count of eight, their heads popped out from behind the bed. By the time I reached the count of ten, I took a quick look around the corner before pressing myself back against the wall. I glanced one last time at the girls plus Total hiding behind the couch, closed my eyes and stepped out into the open.

After I reached twenty seconds and nothing had hit me yet, I opened my eyes slowly, afraid of what I might see flying at me. Instead I saw Iggy and Gazzy rushing around like mad men trying to clean the room on time. I'm not surprised, the place was worse than a pig's sty. Typical boys, leaving the packing to the end.

I watched them, smirking the whole time from the doorway. "Busy packing boys? We've got to be at the airport in just over an hour. I suggest you pack faster if you want to come with us on the plane and meet all those air hostesses and hot French babes you two keep talking about."

"We could always blow up the room if you want," replied Iggy as Gazzy was busy stuffing clothes into their bags.

"And do you mind leaving?" asked Gazzy, "We're kinda busy right now you know. Come back and gloat in a couple of minutes if we're not done. Right now, you're just distracting us from important work."

The girls decided to join me at the door. "Is it alright if we stand here and laugh at them Max?" asked Angel sweetly.

"I'm not sure. . ." I glanced over at them. "I know I wouldn't object and I'm fairly sure Fang wouldn't object either. . ."

Iggy rolled his eyes at us, walked over and closed the door in our faces before locking it. I looked over at the girls. "If you laugh loud enough they might hear you through the wall. You never know until you try."

There was a loud thud as something was thrown against the wall. I think Iggy heard me. Ah well, it's not my fault he's go such good hearing now is it? Though, I suppose I should teach the boy to stop eavesdropping on conversations. It's just down right impolite.

"It seems our flight has been delayed," remarked Fang next to my ear.

I titled my head so that he was in my line of sight. "Can you please stop doing that?" He opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off, "And don't you dare act innocent and ask "You mean stop breathing?" That got old a long time ago."

He gave me that innocent look of his. "Who me?"

I rolled my eyes. "How long has the plane been delayed?"

"The website says thirty minutes," he replied. "Do you think we should tell them?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the door.

I shook my head. "They need the exercise, plus they've been getting lazy lately."

Total placed a hand on leg and I glanced down at him. Instead of saying anything, he gestured towards the two girls who were whispering in the corner. Watching them, they slowly eased towards the door and started talking to each other in a casual tone.

"Did you hear Nudge? Apparently Fang read the time of our flight wrong and we're meant to board in fifteen more minutes, not thirty," said Angel.

"Really? Good thing we're done packing then. But getting your hair done in time will be difficult. If I do. . ." Her voice trailed on as she rambled to Angel.

Gesturing to Fang, I leaned my ear against the wall and listened as they rushed about with renewed urgency. Words such as "hot" and "babes" were being thrown about. I cracked a smile and pulled a thumbs up to the girls.

Clamping their hands over their mouth, they ran out the room and Fang closed the door behind them. Even though there was such a barrier, I could still hear the laughter that filtered through the walls.

"When should we tell them the truth?" whispered Fang.

I chuckled in reply, "They'll find out in-" I glanced down at my watch. "-thirteen more minutes."

Fang chuckled in reply and opened the door into our room. And rolling on the floor of our room was Angel and Nudge in a heap, laughing their heads off. I chuckled louder when I saw them and looked down at Total who was grinning like a mad man.

"Perhaps we should join them?" asked Total.

I nodded and rushed into the room before I could burst out laughing, joining the girls on the floor. Total was in there somewhere as well, as for Fang, well, he was standing off to side, an amused glint in his eyes.

--

"Can I please have seven tickets to France please?" I asked the guy at the counter.

He glanced over at us, his eyes strangely slid over Total, not noticing him at all and nodded. "Sure, which flight are you going to board?"

I replied, "Which one will get us there the fastest?"

He started typing away on the computer. "From what I can tell, the earliest flight that'll get you there the 12:15pm one."

I glanced down at my watch. It was 8am right now, so we had over four hours of waiting to do. I looked over at Nudge and Angel, they'd have no problems talking and doing their hair for an hour or so, maybe longer, but four hours? I think not. As for Gazzy and Iggy, well, I don't think they'd risk blowing something up in an airport. I made eye contact with Fang and he gave the barest nod.

I turned back to the guy at the counter and replied, "Sure. We'll take that one then. What time will we arrive at France by?"

There was some more typing. "Within the day."

I nodded. "Thanks." With those parting words, I paid and left. It was fairly expensive, but cheaper than what I thought they would be, which was good. Probably should have gotten Fang to check the ticket prices and how much money I had left. Though, if truth be told, the money that came in each month was worth three months living, maybe more. They must think we're pig hybrids instead of bird hybrids or something.

We waited and waited and waited and waited. It was a very long wait, full of drama, action and romance. There were heroes, villains, gun fights, damsels in distress, suppressed townsfolk and monsters. Everything a good film needs. It was such an action packed four hour wait. I so wanted to do it again because it was that much fun.

The only thing missing was some special effects involving explosions. Then again, if Iggy and Gazzy found out, it wouldn't be special effects— it'd be for real. Good thing they didn't find out, then.

I glanced down at my watch. Just over an hour to go. I stood up and picked up the bags. "Come on people. We should check in now." I glanced over at Iggy and Gazzy before they could say anything. "And yes, you get some money each to buy some things."

They cheered and raced off in front, running at dangerous speeds, how they managed to get up to such speeds while dodging all those people is a mystery. Good thing we've got good reactions otherwise they would have caused some major accidents. I glanced down at Fang who snapped his laptop shut and glanced up at me. Standing up, he packed everything and started following the rest of the Flock. I followed him and more than once lost him in the crowd only to see him a couple seconds later.

It was slow moving and by the time we caught up to the rest of the Flock, my foot had been stepped on five times, elbowed twice, thought someone else was Fang four times and knocked a person over once. So much fun.

I finally managed to catch up with Fang and together we squeezed past the couple in front. As I did so, I noticed a giant red poster telling us what we couldn't take in and that we should declare it as soon as possible. Almost everything on that poster could be found on either Gazzy or Iggy. I tugged on Fang's sleeve and pointed at the poster, he simply rolled his eyes and pointed up ahead where the rest of the Flock were waiting.

I lined up with them and glanced around. The queue was massive. Absolutely, insanely, long. We'd be waiting here for an hour at this rate. And the Flock were already bored from the long wait before hand. This is so not going to be fun.

"Max?" whispered Angel.

I looked down. "Yeah sweetie? What's up."

"They're about to open a new line at the very end in a couple of minutes. We should go down there. It'd be faster."

I simply stared at her. I hoped she didn't use her mind control powers to open up the line. "Thanks Angel."

She smiled up at me innocently and grabbed Gazzy by the hand, dragging him away causing both Iggy and Nudge to follow in tow, asking questions all the while. I looked at Fang and simply told him, "New line opening up."

He nodded and followed us to the furthest right line and waited there. A couple minutes later, a security guard came up and unhooked the line along with another and we rushed into the new line. I took out the passports and tickets from my bag and handed them out. "Okay people, Iggy goes first, Fang will do third and I'll go last. However you want to go in between is up to you."

Iggy nodded and walking up to the counter, I placed his passport and ticket on the counter. By his side stood Gazzy who told him were everything was. I whispered in a hush tone so that the guards couldn't hear, "Let's play a game called guess the items confiscated."

Angle chuckled and Nudge laughed, Total had a mischievous smile on his face and asked me, "Why don't we say you get one item correct you get paid ten dollars from everyone else and if you get the number right you get five dollars?"

Before I could reply Angel and Nudge already agreed and Fang placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let them play it out that way. It's fine."

They whispered amongst themselves and I glanced up at Fang. "So you're letting them bet? Aren't they underage or something?"

Fang simply shrugged. "Don't worry, the only one making any money will be Total. Do you really think Iggy and Gazzy would go be so calm if they were going to get caught?"

I watched them place their bags through the convey belt and take off watches and the such, placing them all on the tray. Straightening his shirt, Iggy winked at us and stepped through the metal detector. I held my breath. The thing went off. Smiling sheepishly, he pulled out the metal bracelet he had on and stepped through it once again, this time with no mishap.

I heard cursing from both Angel and Nudge. Glancing over at them, they stopped and gave me a combined innocent look. I withered under their combined power. What happened to the whole great power and responsibility thing? When did that fly out the window?

Next came Gazzy who followed Iggy's example and showed both his ticket and passport before taking off everything metal. When he walked through, the sensors didn't go off and he gave us the thumbs up. Once the two pyro's had gone through there was a lot less to worry about. Even Total managed to get past, with some obvious mind manipulation on Angel's part.

In the end, I was the only one who had any real problems. Not any security problems, but the guy at the counter insisted on hitting on me, despite any attempts from me to tell him otherwise. In the end, Fang tapped him politely on the shoulder and he left me alone. When I say tap, I mean, a punch that's strong enough to break the guys arm. Not that you saw anyone rushing to aid the guy.

Taking off my bag, I threw it through the X-Ray and took off my watch, my cell phone and various accessories before stepping through the metal detector with no problems. No problems at all.

And then, the world decided to go upside down on me.

I was thrown off my feet, landing in a heap on the ground along with who knows how many people. The earth shook and trembled underneath me and I could hear cracks. Glancing up, I saw dust everywhere. I couldn't see through the dust. It was a blanket over me. Smothering me. Dust in the air, dust in my mouth, dust in my eyes.

I groaned and tried to stand up, but couldn't. I looked around and tried again. Still nothing. Tugging hard on my leg, I felt a jab of pain race up my left leg. I called out, but heard nothing. Only screams of confusion and pain.

I reached down and felt out my left leg. I winced at what I found. A slab of concrete on my leg. Feeling my way around the slab, I found the edges and slowly eased it off my leg, gasping in pain as I did so. I am so yelling at Iggy and Gazzy once I get out of this. Them and their stupid bombs. They are so dead.

Groaning, I managed to shove the cement block off me before the sound of gunfire filled the air. Blinking, I moved over to where I thought a corner was and pressed myself against the wall. A couple seconds later, the dust started settling and the commotion died down. A figure stepped into view, an Eraser. How did I know so fast? Easy, it was in wolf form.

Looks like they're coming out of the shadows and all the important people are gathered here in this airport. Great.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Sorry for having no update last week people, but at least there's one this week. That's a good thing at least. . . I think. . . Anyways, this chapter hasn't been beta'd simply because my beta's have been busy so sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer: JP owns canon**

**Claimer: I own all original things**

* * *

Silence

Silence. It's a rare thing to hear when you live with a couple hyper teenage kids. I usually like to sit back, relax and just think when there's silence. Sometimes I read a book or think towards the future. Where I come from, silence is a blessed thing worthy of praise and it's very own alter.

But now. . . In this situation. . .

I glanced over to my right. A child, reminding me so much of how Angel looked a couple years back when we still lived with Jeb. She hugged a teddy bear close to her chest and her lips moved in silent prayer. Her mother held her close and was whispering in her ear, "It'll be fine sweetheart. Everything will be fine. Remember that story I told you? The one with the superhero? Well she'll turn up and she'll rescue us. Just like in that story."

Over and over this was repeated. A hushed whisper, barely audible as she rocked the child in her arms. "It'll be fine. We'll be rescued. Everything will be fine." Again and again it was said. "Dad will be waiting for us outside, with a cake and he'll be so proud of how courageous you were." Tears leaked down the dusty face. "Everyone will be so proud of you. . ."

Her words was just a low hum under the sobbing, the cries, the footsteps, the orders being barked. A low soothing hum that distracted her little child. Protecting her from the harsh truths of reality. That this was, in fact, a bleak situation. Perhaps the people hadn't realised it as such yet, perhaps they still entertained fantasies of making it out of here alive. I knew the truth and one glance at Fang told me he knew it as well. I glanced over at the others on my left, they all knew it as well.

I reached down and scratched my leg. Iggy did a good job of bandaging it up, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying me. Sighing, I stared up at the ceiling. Lights, holes in the roof leading up to the floor above, piping leaking water everywhere, power cables sparking. No matter where I looked, all I could see was destruction, mayhem, sadness, death, despair.

I didn't want to look towards my left, towards my Flock again, for I knew what I'd see behind them. Rubble, bodies, blood. I wonder how long it'll take to get those images out of my mind. A constant slide show in my mind, image after image, face after face. The white floors, stained red. The sound of bones being crunched as slabs fell off the ceiling onto people below. Those dull eyes looking up at me as if wanting me to do something, telling me I should have done something, that I could have done something.

It was silent. Most people would think the opposite. With the Erasers marching about, the people whispering amongst themselves, with the crackling cables and dripping water, silence would seem to be the furthest thing away. But. . . it was silent. . . It sounds weird, I know, but it's true. There was just this deadness to the air, this depressiveness, a heaviness that smothered and dampened everything. It reminded me of being back at the School. Yet. . . it wasn't quite the same either. These people had friends, family, loved ones, while back then, back at the school, we had none of that. These people had more to loose.

I rolled over so that I was on my front allowing me to look straight ahead. While most of the Erasers around are walking around, there was one that wasn't. Instead she was just sitting there, a rifle slung over one shoulder while she held a simple handgun in her right hand. She was the leader of their merry little pack. The one I planned on taking down if I had the chance.

I watched her, studied her, looked at the way she sat, tried to get feel for her. But, she wasn't moving, merely sitting there with her eyes closed. That was not a good sign. In order for an Erasers to become leader, they had to best all others in their pack and they had to be smart. This Eraser was merely sitting there with her eyes closed, completely and utterly relaxed.

I knew that position, I knew what it meant. Jeb did it once when we were escaping and the plan didn't work out. He just sat there, in that exact same manner and when he opened his eyes, he would have a new plan.

I don't trust coincidences. The very thought of the Eraser sitting there, in that exact same position, gave me a bad feeling. Sure, it might be that she's just resting, but I didn't come this far by being optimistic about everything.

I lay there watching her and after a while she opened her eyes and looked straight at me. I cocked and eyebrow and smirked. She shook her head slightly and grinned in response, she even made a slight wave with her free hand. I rolled my eyes, but returned the gesture. She must be one of the weirdest Erasers I have ever met. And her eyes. . . they were those of a wolves and not human. All the previous Erasers had human eyes. . . things just seem to be getting better and better.

Turning her head, I looked her line of sight to another Erasers approaching her. Without looking, I reached out and tapped Iggy on the shoulder and jerked my head in their direction.

"There seems to be a problem," whispered Iggy as the messenger talked to the Alpha Female.

"Let me guess, SWAT has arrived?" she replied without even looking at him. Before the messenger could reply, she stood up. "Not much of a problem if you ask me."

Stretching she walked towards a pile rubble and stepped on top of it. "Okay people!" she yelled. All heads turned to her. "It seems some foolish people think they can rescue you all. Or, if you want to be specific, SWAT thinks they can rescue you."

Noise flooded the room as the people started talking to each other. Things about how they'd be saved and so forth. I knew better, Iggy had heard what she had said, she was confident about who would win. Without warning, the Alpha drew her gun and fired off to side. Silence. Pure and utter silence. Broken only by the sound of a gun falling to the ground followed by the dull thud of a human body.

I shook my head. Silly security guard. Thinking he could surprise the Eraser. So far, she's been surprised by nothing.

In the silence, the Alpha started talking again. "From what I know, SWAT is setting up outside and I've arranged for some entertainment." With a wave of her hand, an Eraser ran up, set up a projector and the view of outside of seen on the wall.

There was indeed a SWAT unit set up. They had the rifles, the guns, the cars, the clothes. In the background I could make out a helicopter coming. They used their cars as shields, standing behind them with their guns levelled at the entrance. The camera zoomed out and it showed a whole line of them around the entrance of the building while others were placed around it.

A man made his way forwards with a speaker phone in his hand, no doubt to tell the Erasers to come out with their hands up. But before he could even speak the first word, the Alpha raised a radio to her lips and simply said, "Initiate plan."

Bang!

The gunshot sliced through the air and on the screen, we could see a fire blooming as one of the cars erupted in flames. A couple seconds later, the sound of the car exploding reached our ears and by that time, three more cars had erupted. The people standing by the cars? Well. . . they didn't stand a chance. Dead. The whole lot of them and if they weren't dead, they'd soon be. I could hear the screams of those on fire.

It was slaughter out there. Those who ran for cover were shot down by snipers; those who stayed sheltering behind the cars were burnt to the ground. After the first couple of people who made a ran for it got shot down, one of the SWAT persons threw a smoke grenade. It slowly filled up the area and by the time the smoke cleared, they were gone. It was a risky move, but the only move they could have made at the time. A couple seconds later, there was a gunshot and the screen went dead. Seems like they found the camera.

I took the time to look around. Before, everyone still had hope, still believed they could get out of this. It was still there. . . just. . . not as vibrant as before. As if it was submerged far below the sea.

"It seems, that they adapted to the situation faster than what I had anticipated," mused the Alpha out loud. "No matter." She gestured and a group of five Erasers appeared. "It seems that you'll get to hunt tonight. Remember to keep your eye on the prey and to not get distracted by shadows." With a flick of the wrist, they left.

I didn't have to look around to know what affect that had on the people. For the remains of the SWAT force to be referred as prey and to be talked about in such a condescending manner. . . That is the most demoralising thing she could have done. And she knew it. She sat back down on where she sat before and gave me a smile as if to say "Check. Your move" before closing her eyes.

I glanced around. Despite the five missing Erasers, there were still far too many for us to take down. And even if their numbers were reduced to an amount we could normally take down, we were starving, dusty, scratches all over our bodies and they had guns. No matter what we did, there was no way we would be able to win in a straight forward fight.

"So what do we do Max?" asked Gazzy, "We've got enough bombs to take this place down. . ."

I shook my head. "Not now. Wait. A straight forward fight will get us killed, plus there are innocent people both here and outside."

I didn't need to look to see their shocked expression, but Fang stepped in and explained what I meant. "We wait and act as a distraction for when SWAT decides to try again. Max, Gazzy and Angel, you three while lead the people out while the rest of us stay behind and distract them."

I opened my mouth to complain, but Fang cut in, "First of all you're injuried, secondly their lives mean more than ours. We all know what Itex making this move means. We need to save as many people as possible."

I nodded. There was no point in arguing with Fang when he's like this so I decided to play along. "We'll take the north exit and try to take out as many Erasers along the way as possible. The rest of you take out the closest Erasers, grab their guns and provide covering fire. If you've got spare guns pass it over to the security guards."

Total opened his mouth for some witty remark no doubt, but one look at my face and he shut up. Good choice that. If he had said anything, I can not be held accountable for any bodily harm.

Sighing, I leaned back and closed my eyes. "I suggest you get some rest while you still can. It's been a long day and it's going to get longer." I stole a glance at the Alpha and she merely smiled and nodded.

What twisted game is she playing?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter folks. I've got an important note down the bottom so please read that.**

**Disclaimer: JP owns all cannon**

**Claimer: All original ideas and characters are mine**

* * *

It was dark.

It was dark. Then slowly, out of the depths, an image started to form around me. It started off as mere lines on the darkness around me, simple white lines as if some child was drawing it. The lines joined together and eventually a building formed in front of me. Glancing behind me, I saw other buildings also being drawn, taller than the one in front. A corporation if I had to guess.

I glanced back at the first building and blinked. It was fully coloured in. Wait. . . I know this building. I took a step back and gazed at it a while longer, waiting for the details to be filled in.

"_Come now Max, don't tell me you have to wait till everything is filled in first. You should know this place."_

I sighed and turned around and guess who was there. Yep, none other than the nameless Eraser herself. I think I'll call her Fluffy as seen as she doesn't want to give me her name.

"So Fluffy, where've you been these past few sleeps. I was so bored without someone to talk to in my dreams."

"_Fluffy? You've decided to call me Fluffy? Well now Maxie, don't you think that's slightly immature?"_ Her shape faded as ghosts of people faded into view. I took the opportunity to glance around and saw that the whole street was now filled in. _"Come now Maxie, surely you remember this place."_

I growled lightly at her use of my name and tried to find her in the crowd. "Stop calling me Maxie." I glanced back at the building. "And this is that building we destroyed isn't it? The one where we got Total."

Fluffy smiled lightly and stepped through a person, stopping right in front of me. _"You are indeed correct Maxie." _She laughed and turned around, swept her arm and the building disintegrated into rubble and flames. _"A pretty picture wouldn't you say? This is probably how it looked after you escaped. The whole building probably collapsed from the weaken supports. Sure the flames might be a tad unrealistic, but it certainly looks good wouldn't you say?"_

Laughing she twirled around and all the builds seemed to collapse inward. Reduced to rubble before my eyes. _"Isn't it pretty Maxie? All this destruction, all this decay, all this death, it just warms my soul."_

I shook my head. "Why are you showing me this? I won't let this happen you know, I will defeat you and Itex. I'm meant to save the world remember? It's my destiny." I smiled at her. "You of all people should know that."

She simply chuckled. _"Keep on believing that Maxie. After all, everyone needs hope."_ She took a bow and vanished from my sight, leaving me standing in the ruins of a city.

I hate her.

--

I woke up to someone shaking me. Blinking, I brushed away the hand and slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Total's eyes close to mine. . . too close. . . picking him up, I threw him off to the side. "And stay there," I mumbled.

Total ruffled his fur and shot me a look. "That's the thanks I get for waking you up?" he muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll buy you some proper food once we get out of this mess okay?" I glanced over at the rest of the Flock and saw them all napping. "I guess it's time to wake everyone up?"

Total nodded. "I'm not certain if anything is up, but the Alpha got a radio message before. And now. . ." I followed his gaze and noticed that the Alpha was not at her usual position.

I glanced back at Total. "Wake them up and tell them all to get ready." I surveyed the other Erasers, there were less of them, but they all held their weapons at the ready and where all at strategic locations. "We're about to get company."

He glanced at me then looked at the Erasers before scampering off, touching each member of the Flock in turn with his cold nose. Some sat bolt up and threw Total, others woke up slowly, clearly confused while the rest simply opened their eyes and knew what was about to happen.

Moving slowly and silently, we got ourselves into position and waited. I suppose we could have spread the word, but there was no way of doing that without some sort of sign being given by the civilians as to what we were planning to do. I scanned the area once last time and caught the eye of one of the security guards. I gave him the barest of nods and tilted my head towards the nearest Eraser. He nodded back.

I've always thought that all through life I've been waiting. Waiting for the next experiment, waiting for the day we could escape, waiting for Jeb to return. . . Waiting, always waiting. And now? I was waiting for any sign of the remaining SWAT so that start our plan. Like I said, I'm always waiting for something to happen in my life. Most of it turns out to be bad.

And now. . .? Gun fire reached my ears and we all tensed up. Now, the waiting is over. Fang was the first to move, climbing up and dashing towards the first Eraser. By the time the Eraser had reacted, Fang was already in attacking distance and did so. Getting up myself, I grabbed the nearest civilians arm and dragged her to her feet and gestured in the direction of Gazzy. The rest soon followed

"Iggy! Where's that-" Flash of white light and even though I was not looking at it, it still took me a couple of seconds to recover.

"Max!!" I turned around and caught the gun Fang threw at me.

Spinning around, I located one Eraser who had just managed to recover and I took aim and fire. It would have been a lot more dramatic if it was a straight headshot and that I'm some sort of miraculous shooter, but instead I missed completely. Don't get me wrong, it made the Eraser blink and that was enough time to get myself behind some rubble.

At first the only gun fire was ours as the Erasers tried to regain their composure, only managing to get off a shot or two. Now though, their gun fire roared into life, magnified by the echo. I didn't even have time to say goodbye to all the other sounds. How rude.

I pressed myself against the rubble and winced each time I heard a bullet scrap and ricochet off my hiding place. I looked over to my left and saw Fang in a similar position, cradling his left arm. I glanced over to my right and saw the rest of the people rushing out while Gazzy and the rest of them tried to cover them. Bodies littered the ground, blood stained the floor crimson.

Had I managed to save them? Or had I merely sent them to their deaths trying to escape?

I shook my head. This was no time to be thinking about such things. Standing up, I fired off three shots then ducked back down. Taking a couple deep breaths, I stood back up and flinched when a bullet whizzed past my ear, but fired.

Click.

Crap. Ducking down, I dived off to the side and rolled off behind a larger piece of rubble. The first time I tried to stand up, I collapsed onto the ground. Bewildered, I glanced down and saw my bandages soaked with blood. Gritting my teeth, I used the wall as support and stood up slowly, making sure to stay covered from gunfire.

Looked off to the side and saw the bodies. So many of them. . . too many. . . this wasn't supposed to happen. Sure, there was an element of danger and some would die, I knew that, but this many? No. . . this wasn't right, how could so many have died. . .

There was a loud explosion from above. Silence. We all watched as the ceiling collapsed inward. Closing my eyes, I braced myself against the shelter. The ground shook, it trembled, the groaned under the weight. Dust filled my mouth and nose, it filled the air and hung there. Small pieces of the walls and roof were picked up and tossed back. Shrapnel. I could hear the screams as it cut into people. I could hear it as it sliced the air next to me.

This wasn't meant to happen. There were less than a dozen Erasers. It should have been simple to escape. No one should have died. Take down the nearest two Erasers, grab their guns, shoot down the rest. It was simple. It was straight forward. It had failed.

I was standing in a pool of blood. No. . . not a pool, a sea. . . I was standing in a sea of blood. A thin layer coated the ground. My own blood dripped and mixed. I opened my eyes slowly and they watered. I tried to breathe and chocked on the muggy air. I slowly stood back up and the clothes stuck to me. When did I collapse?

"Max! This way!" I stumbled after Iggy's muffled voice, tripping over more than once on rubble and bodies. "Come on, come on, hurry!"

"I'm hurrying you idiot!" I yelled back, but I don't think he heard me, I could barely hear me. Stumbling along, the door and Iggy slowly faded into view and I made my way through.

The person on the right of me held out a cup of water. "Thanks," I replied and gulped it down. "Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be with the other civilians?"

She simply chuckled. "I'm with the US Marines. I've got the next couple of days off so I decided to vist my family and all this happened. That was a daring plan you had there, it could have gone a lot worse. We got lucky."

I nodded. "I realise that now, but at the time, it was our best option. Plus, it offered a distraction for the SWAT people to get in."

She nodded. "So your friend here told me." She held out her hand. "Name's Julie. You run ahead and make sure everything is going on fine up ahead. We'll keep the Erasers company down here." Smiled lightly. "Yes your friends told me what they're called, though why I have no idea."

"It's because they erase life," replied Fang. He glanced over at me, "I suggest you get moving Max. Gazzy's having trouble controlling everyone because he's too young."

I nodded and raced off in the direction Fang pointed. Why can't people just listen to those that obviously know more than them?

**A/N I've got an announcement which is updates will not be coming weekly anymore. I'm sorry, but I write fanfiction for critique so that I can improve. As seen as I'm no longer getting any critiques, I've decided to spend less time writing fanfiction and more time writing my original story. However, I will try to have an update every two weeks or so.**

**Reviews are nice, critiques are must.**


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